Hi, Joe,
That line isn't supposed to be wedge shaped or at an angle and it looks to me like the "D"s are at an angle. The "S" in SAML is out of line and it looks like someone tried to cover that up by marring the barrel in that area. IMHO, it was done using a guide and individual hand stamps. The "Colts Patent" marking is normal on reproductions and likely was put on the gun by the factory. The barrel markings on those Colts were put on with a roll stamp and are pretty uniform. For an idea what I mean by that, I am attaching a picture of a much later Colt roll stamp; as you see, there is no way any letter or symbol could possibly be out of line.
Jim
That line isn't supposed to be wedge shaped or at an angle and it looks to me like the "D"s are at an angle. The "S" in SAML is out of line and it looks like someone tried to cover that up by marring the barrel in that area. IMHO, it was done using a guide and individual hand stamps. The "Colts Patent" marking is normal on reproductions and likely was put on the gun by the factory. The barrel markings on those Colts were put on with a roll stamp and are pretty uniform. For an idea what I mean by that, I am attaching a picture of a much later Colt roll stamp; as you see, there is no way any letter or symbol could possibly be out of line.
Jim
